Fireworks Pop, And So Do Complaints Of the Irritated

By THOMAS J. LUECK

Published: July 7, 2004

By most measures, it was a spectacular Fourth of July in New York City, with balmy breezes, festive crowds and a vast display of pyrotechnics over the East River. But in neighborhoods across the city, people said they were jolted by the unwelcome sounds of an old problem, not yet resolved.

Their complaints, about firecrackers, bottle rockets and other illegal, dangerous and annoying fireworks, seemed to be reflected in data compiled by the Fire Department. Yesterday, the department said that it received 660 complaints about illegal fireworks on July 4, compared with only 64 complaints on the holiday last year.

At City Hall, however, officials said the department's data was severely skewed and may have simply reflected the success of a recent city initiative to encourage people to use the city's 311 public service phone line. As New Yorkers have grown accustomed to using the new number, many more are calling with complaints about all manner of annoyances, including fireworks that shatter the calm of their neighborhoods.

''It's not as though this is something that has fallen off the radar screen,'' said Edward Skyler, the spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

As recently as Friday, on his radio program, the mayor said that one of his biggest worries about the Fourth of July celebration was the use of fireworks by children, and he advised people to call 311 if they saw anyone with illegal fireworks.

Fire officials said that with arrests for and seizures of illegal fireworks on the rise this year, the problem remained under control.

But in interviews yesterday, people across the city said they had seen and heard more illegal fireworks going off in parks, streets and playgrounds this year than last. Some said they feared that the problem might be rearing up after years of intense police efforts to root out illegal fireworks, beginning under former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

''This area went from chaos to a point where things seemed pretty much under control,'' said Betty Braton, chairwoman of Community Board 10, which represents Ozone Park and Howard Beach, in Queens. Those neighborhoods were prime fireworks targets for Mr. Giuliani in the 1990's because the area included the block where the mobster John J. Gotti presided over an annual Fourth of July party and fireworks display.

''There was definitely a lot more fireworks this year,'' said Ms. Braton. At one point on Sunday, she said, she became so angry about the explosions near her home in Howard Beach that she called 911.

''I think the reason is there was not enough hype leading up to the Fourth,'' she said. ''Under Mayor Giuliani, people were told flat out that you do, and we're going to come and get you.''

In other neighborhoods, some echoed Ms. Braton, saying Mayor Giuliani's zeal in combating illegal fireworks did not appear to be shared by Mayor Bloomberg.

''I do recall in years past that the Fire Department was more aggressive in the days before the Fourth reminding people about the dangers,'' said Craig Hammerman, executive director of Community Board 6 in Brooklyn, which represents Boerum Hill, Park Slope and Red Hook.

He said illegal fireworks could be heard across his section of Brooklyn through the weekend. His worst moment, he said, came when he took a stroll Saturday night on the Valentino Pier in Red Hook, which offered an unobstructed view of the Statue of Liberty against a spectral sunset, only to have the calm shattered by teenagers with firecrackers.

''It was tremendously disturbing,'' he said.

Despite complaints that more illegal fireworks were set off this year than last, city records show that the problem is far less severe than it was a decade ago.

One statistic cited yesterday by fire officials was the number of fireworks arrests: seven so far this year, compared with six during the same period in 2003. In 1995, there were 56 fireworks arrests, the records show.

''It used to be a given that July 4 would be the busiest day on our calendar because of fires from fireworks,'' said Francis X. Gribbon, a Fire Department spokesman. ''It no longer is.''

But people across the city said something had gone amiss this year.

''You could see it on my own block,'' said Joseph Longobardi, chairman of Community Board 7 in Brooklyn. He said he returned to his home in Windsor Terrace on Sunday to find that spent bottle rockets had landed in his decorative pool.

''Previous administrations started talking fireworks much earlier before the Fourth,'' he said, ''and this administration seems like it might have just skipped out.''